From Bishkek: Burana–Kegeti Gorge–Issyk-Ata Hot Springs Tour｜Kyrgyzstan

Burana Tower is the last standing piece of Balasagun, a Karakhanid capital on the Silk Road that has otherwise disappeared into the Chuy Valley. The 11th-century minaret still stands about 25 m high, and you can climb the spiral staircase inside to look out over the fields and the mountains behind them. Around it are the foundations of the old city, a small museum, and a field of balbals — carved stone figures gathered here from across the region. The staircase is narrow, steep and unlit, so it isn't for everyone; the site itself is flat and easy.

From there the road turns south into the Kegeti Gorge. This is the easy stop of the day: the waterfall is a five-minute walk from where the bus parks, dropping through a wooded cleft in the rock, and there's time to walk further up the gorge before lunch.

Issyk-Ata is a different landscape again — a narrow valley with a fast river running between bare rock walls. The walk to the waterfall is about 3 km each way along the river, flat almost the whole way, with no climbing involved.

The day ends in the open-air thermal pools at Issyk-Ata, fed by hot mineral springs that people have been coming to for over a century. An hour in the water with the ridge directly above you, then the drive back to Bishkek for around 7:30 PM.